I am starting my son son on baby food. What kind of schedule should I put him on?

Question

How many times should I feed him. Right now I just give him a bottle with ceral at night. I am starting with applesauce, but how many times do I give him food? will he still take his bottle? or be too full from the food. thanks.

Answer 1

Giving cereal in a bottle is a no-no because of the choking risk. Also, studies have shown that the earlier before 6 months you give your baby baby food the more likely they are to develop food allergies. This includes cereal in a bottle.

Formula or breastmilk should be your baby's main source of nutrition before one year old. Feeding him baby food until then is more of an introduction than it is actually providing him his full nutritional needs.

You don't say how old your baby is, so I can't really tell you how to arrange your feedings. My advice is to try it out one time and see how he reacts. You can start with applesauce if you would like but that is a bit on the acidic side. Maybe try squash or pears. You will probably only do a few bitefuls so don't expect him to eat an entire jar. If you buy jarred food get the stage 1 and put a few spoonfuls in a dish. Don't feed him out of the jar and save the jar as that can contaminate the food with saliva and bacteria. Sit him upright as much as possible and try a small bite. If he thrusts his tongue out he might not be ready for baby food yet. That is nature's reflex and it goes away when a baby is ready to be spoon fed. Feed him once a day at first and don't switch foods for 5 days to be sure he doesn't have an allergic reaction. If you change foods every day you won't know what he reacted to if he does have one.

As far as timing goes, I would try to feed him when he awake and happy. Maybe at lunch. Don't make his first feeding before bedtime because if it doesn't sit well with him he may scream from gas or an allergic reaction all night long. Start with once a day and move up to twice when you think he is ready. Feed him a bottle after he eats his food, keeping in mind that he isn't supposed to fill up on baby food, just practice with it.

I hope that helps you. Just remember to go slow because there is no rush to push a baby to eat solids. The change in diaper smell alone is enough to make you want to delay it a bit. LOL

Answer 2

well, first of all, i hope you're not putting cereal in the bottle.. it defeats the purpose of the baby learning to eat from a spoon, plus can cause choking. when you first start the feeding (around 4-6 months) stick with the cereal for a few weeks... then go ahead and move onto more fruits or vegetables. only start with a small amount at first, a few spoonfuls or so, and see how he does with that. many babies will not eat right away.. if he keeps spitting the food out, then you just need to wait and try again in a few days. it can take a baby between 10 and 15 tastes of a new food to accept it (although some babies- like my own- will accept any new food at once)... feed the same food for at least 3 days to see if he develops any allergies and then you can move on to something else.. if he eats eagerly then go ahead and give him some more.. he'll turn his head away or spit the food out if he doesn't want any more.. start with feeding only once a day.. usually morning or noon is a good time when he is awake and happy... then you can add more feedings from there.. and yes.. he still needs to be nursed, or have a bottle (this is still his main source of nutrition) good luck and have fun.

Answer 3

What I did was, a bottle in the morning when he wakes up, then a few hours later at lunch, give him half of what his normal bottle size is (my son was at 6 oz. so I gave him 3) and give him one food at a time, starting with a fruit, for about a week to make sure there's no allergic reaction. He should have probably a tablespoon, 2 tbsp max. Then the same before bed time with bottles in between lunch and dinner.

Answer 4

with my daughter i started very slowly. i would just give her food once a day and then slowly move up to 3 times a day. when u start with the step one baby foods take half out and put in fridge. u probaly wont need it! formula or breastfeeding should be the main food until he is older. he should still takes his bottles, in fact my 10 mon. old when from 4 bottles to 6 bottles about a month after she started food. just offer him a little food and give him the same food for a couple days then start a new food.you just want to make sure he isnt allergic to anything. when you have gone through all the step one foods (it will take a month or two) then u can move on to step 2. have fun!

Answer 5

Start with rice. Then I was told to start with vegetables because once they get a taste for the sweeter fruits they pitch a fit for it. And always give it a few days in between new foods in case they have an allergic reaction. This is such a fun time. I miss those days. Oh, and keep a BIG towel because they make a mess. They like to play with their food with their tongues.

Answer 6

I gave my son cereal in the morning. Then in between breakfast-lunch, I would give him a bottle. At lunch, Some food then a small bottle to wash it down... I fed him bottles between lunch-dinner and then followed the same with dinner as with lunch. As the baby gets bigger, add more food with each feeding. this worked with my son and I am starting with the same for my 4month old daughter. I never fed him more often, I just fed him more at one time as he grew.

Answer 7

First of all, you do not mention how old your son is, but you should not start him on any solid foods prior to 5 or 6 months of age. Infants younger than this are very susceptible to allergies which cannot be known beforehand. Additionally, his digestive system is simply not ready to digest anything properly other than breast milk or formula.

When you start your son on solid food, begin with Baby Rice cereal mixed with plenty of formula or breast milk in a bowl (NEVER mix it in the bottle!) and feed him 4 or 5 spoonfuls. Feeding once a day in the evening is best, since it may help him sleep more soundly. But there is no need to rush solid food.

If you have any other questions, your son's pediatrician should be able to direct you as to what is best for your baby.

Answer 8

How old is your son? I started my daughter on cereal when she was 4 1/2 months. I started her with lunch only for a few weeks, then lunch and dinner (3 table spoons per feeding). Now she is 6 months, she is taking to other solids such as greens beans, squash, etc. I've just started her on breakfast at 9:30, lunch and dinner. It depends on your baby's weight and what your ped recommends. I suggest you talk to your son's ped. You work on what schedule is good for you and for your baby.

Answer 9

When I gave my children cereal I always gave them a smaller bottle too. My son drinks a 6 oz bottle so with his cereal I make a 5 oz bottle put about 1-2 oz in the cereal and he drinks the rest when he if finished with the cereal and that is enough for him
I give him his cereal about 7 then he goes to be
He is now eating fruits and veg and I give him 1/2 of contanier of each(stage 1) at lunch time betwwn 130 and 230 with a 4 oz bottle.
Also at night with his cereal I give him 1/2 container of fruit.
As far as how much you give your baby it depends on how much he eats. try it out. At this age he needs his formula or breastmilk, so don't give him the food instead of formula. give it to him with.
only try one food every few days to rule out any allergies.

Answer 10

Each child is different....when I started my daughter on cereal, I started giving her a small bowl each morning for a week. Then I gave it to her each morning and each evening for a week. Then I started her on friut & cereal in the morning and evening, giving her the same meal for both...to rule out allergies easily. Each time I made a change, I gave her the same food for 3 days...this worked for me. GOOD LUCK